Vandals damage Cumberland County middle school

You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters

Fayetteville, N.C. — The main office and cafeteria of a Cumberland County middle school were damaged early Tuesday morning after two people broke into the building.

Juveniles broke through a window at Max Abbott Middle School at about 1 a.m. and damaged desks, counters and floors, authorities said.

"They went down through the school, checking door knobs because we could see them on the video camera, or see the silhouettes of them checking to see if they were locked," school principal Scott Pope said. "They actually got themselves into our cafeteria prep area."

Once in the cafeteria, the vandals used a fire extinguisher to spray foam over the prep area, Pope said.

“It almost looked like we had taken gallons of paint and thrown it because everything was stuck with the spray that comes out of the extinguisher," he said.

Maintenance crews spent over a day cleaning up the damage, said Pope, who added that the worst part about the incident is knowing someone wanted to destroy his second home.

"Well, it hurts," he said. "As taxpayers we all pay for our school. Whether we realize it at all that is where a big chunk of our tax money is going to. You hate to see someone come in and try to damage that."

The damage did not impact classes. No arrests were made as of Wednesday.